A really painful experience at the dentist!

[bobMorane 52]

I recently visited a new dentist for a regular checkup as we moved to this region a few months ago. He made an appointment for 2-3 tooth-filling jobs. But apparently, he was too busy on the appointed day, so he cut down my fillings to only urgent ones. I was OK with this modification as the dentist had been sick the whole week before and his praxis was closed for one week. 

 

However, when I was lying on the dental chair, he spontaneously decided to do my filling without giving any local anesthesia. I guess he wanted to save time, finish my job quickly, and get to other patients. The problem was that he didn't ask for my consent nor informed me about this decision. I only realized what he was doing when he was already in the middle of drilling my teeth. I shouted in pain and raised my hand to inform him about my painful condition. But he just confirmed the pain and continued his work. Even when he paused for a few seconds to switch the drill's needle, I told him about the pain and asked him for anesthesia. But he simply said, "it is not required!" During the next phase of the drilling, I experienced such constant, tremendous pain, which left me no choice other than grabbing his arm and pulling it out of my mouth. I guess I was super lucky that I didn't lose my tongue or cause any other sort of damage to myself by that desperate reaction.

 

As soon as the filling job was done, I said tschüss and went home and took 2 painkiller pills to get rid of the headache! But I felt horrified, shocked, and humiliated. Something I've never experienced in any other German or non-German dental practice. I guess that was how veterinary dental operations were done around 30 years ago!

[optimista 5,839]

Yes. 

German dentists. Special breed. Criminally bad some of them.

A traumatising expérience for you. Have T-shirt.

I only discovered a year or so ago that they introduced medical training and exams to the profession relatively recently, hitherto having been 'artisans' ... on the same footing as hairdressers and beauticians.

 

Get thee next time to a foreign trained dentist if possible. In Munich I had excellent Rumanian and Hungarian dentists. Both finally retired. 

My expériences at the hands of German dentists beggared belief. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

[Gambatte 897]

My dentist, very German and excellent, is unfortunately retiring. So I'm going to a new one, also German, first visit today.

Wish me luck.

[MikeMelga 7,240]

49 minutes ago, Gambatte said:

My dentist, very German and excellent, is unfortunately retiring. So I'm going to a new one, also German, first visit today.

Wish me luck.

I had the same problem. Been to 3 in the meantime, and it has been a terrible experience. First, at any chance 2 of them wanted to remove teeth! Second, they come with this condescending talk.

My current one doesn't do any of that, but I suspect he's incompetent. I'm going through my first meaningful procedure with him and things don't look good...

[fraufruit 41,928]

MM, If you don't mind coming into Munich, we have an excellent dentist couple here. Drs. Herschbach - man and wife. They are both excellent. I prefer her as we have become good friends. They always give anesthesia when needed and are never rushed. They are Rumanian. 

[PandaMunich 16,562]

3 hours ago, MikeMelga said:

I had the same problem. Been to 3 in the meantime, and it has been a terrible experience. First, at any chance 2 of them wanted to remove teeth! Second, they come with this condescending talk.

My current one doesn't do any of that, but I suspect he's incompetent. I'm going through my first meaningful procedure with him and things don't look good...

Well, you could try a Portuguese-speaking dentist at Alldent on the top floor of the C&A store at Bayerstr. 21, next to the central train station, Hélder Oliveira. He got his degree at the "Instituto Superior de Ciências de Saúde do Norte": https://www.alldent-zahnzentrum.de/zahnzentrum/unser-team/zahnaerzte.html

 

Alldent's Munich East branch on the top floors of the Einstein shopping centre at Einsteinstr. 130 also has dentists who know other languages: https://www.alldent-zahnzentrum.de/zahnzentrum/unser-team-muenchen-ost/zahnaerzte.html

[MikeMelga 7,240]

Thank you both!! I went the lazy path and was just looking around my area, but if my current one reveals himself incompetent, I will definitely take your advices.

 

I'm doing 2 crowns. He prepared the teeth last week and made temporary crowns. The first fell 20 minutes later. The other fell 3 days later. I understand that the teeth might not have enough grip area, and that the cement is not strong because it's temporary, but not a good first impression. I'll place the permanent ones in 10 days and report back...

[bobMorane 52]

7 hours ago, optimista said:

Yes. 

German dentists. Special breed. Criminally bad some of them.

Yes. He was German. But I do not want to criticize him based on his origin. Also, it's not about his dental competency. He intentionally put me in unnecessary tremendous pain by skipping the numbing phase just to have more time for other patients. Also, he refused to listen to my complaints about the situation and simply ignored me.

 

I do not know if there is any law to protect patients in such cases.

[knotheadusc 521]

I'm so sorry you went through that trauma.  I had a similarly horrifying experience, only it was with an Air Force gynecologist.  It really made me distrust doctors.  I hope you will find another dentist who is more professional, respectful, and interested in your comfort and well-being.

 

I don't know where in BW you are, but I see Dr. Blair in downtown Stuttgart.  He's German-American and was trained at Indiana University.  Best dentist either my husband or I have ever had.  That's why we travel from Wiesbaden to see him.  He did my dental implant and was even kind enough to give me Ativan before the procedure.  

[MadAxeMurderer 6,214]

I've been tortured by one dentist in Germany and two in Belgium.

 

The problem is they tell you to raise your hand if you feel pain. But they don't expect you to, and don't know how to react if you do. Since your tooth is 1/2 open they make the executive decision they have to finish because they can't leave you with an open tooth. I actually had one little shit complain to me afterwards about how uncomfortable my screams made him feel. I was due a second procedure with him, but called the practice back and told them I didn't not want any more treatment from him. They dumped me as a patient and told me to go to an ontodontist.

 

What they don't realise or want to understand is that for them it's a job well done with a little discomfort, but for you it's trauma, elevated fear of dentists and greater pain next time because anxiety further reduces anesthetic effectiveness. 

 

I do have a dentist here. Female specialises in pain. When I was obviously in pain on the first visit, like no other dentist before she just stopped in surprise and said we must try something else. We now have a regime where I turn up 1 hour before my operation and get a tranquilizer that leaves me incapable of reading any book. Not happy, just don't care about anything.

 

Asian dentists are different. They can pump you full of painkillers. European dentitsts are bound by laws to "protect" the patient and cannot give more pain killer than the allowed dose for the 1% or 0.1% of patients that are resistant to painkiller.

[Feierabend 1,136]

Sorry for anyone who's had awful dental experience. As a typical child of British NHS dentistry, I never had any anaesthesia for fillings. Horrible, and the technology was much slower then. And there were always fillings, as you were automatically fed sugar in your tea, etc, over cereals, sweets for treats doled by the parental generation who had lived throughout the wartime sugarless privations. Flossing and fluoride unheard of in my circles  So even as an adult I would drag myself in terror to a checkup.

My experiences here with a normal provincial German dentist have been excellent and I haven't needed any treatment for years now. The practice hygienist does regular very thorough teeth cleaning. Well worth the 70 ish euros.

[PandaMunich 16,562]

@bobMorane

Alldent also has branches in Baden-Württemberg:

• in Stuttgart, Heilbronner Str. 72: https://www.alldent-zahnzentrum-stuttgart.de/zahnzentrum/unser-team/zahnaerzte.html
• in Mannheim, D1 4-8: https://www.alldent-zahnzentrum-mannheim.de/zahnzentrum/zahnaerzte-team-mannheim/zahnaerzte-team-mannheim/
• they are planning to open a branch in Karlsruhe (in autumn 2023): https://www.alldent-zahnzentrum.de/karriere.html
  

 

Existing Alldent branches (well, Bochum will only be opened next month, on 4. November 2022):

 

[silty1 3,597]

Have had a painful dental experience here, but it was me kicking myself for not telling them to get stuffed when they offered services I clearly didn't need and for which I later paid a stupid sum.  The industry is rife with them.  

 

 

 

[fraufruit 41,928]

I have a rather painful treatment coming up next month. I will have local anesthetic. She puts a numbing cream on before the injections and waits until it takes effect and then gives the injections.

 

I wouldn't open my mouth for a dentist who doesn't use anesthetic unless it totally isn't necessary like filing a minor chip or teeth cleaning. 

 

Side note - my public insurance pays these treatments 100%.

[bobMorane 52]

55 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

I wouldn't open my mouth for a dentist who doesn't use anesthetic unless it totally isn't necessary like filing a minor chip or teeth cleaning. 

I learned this lesson the hard way!

[optimista 5,839]

5 hours ago, MadAxeMurderer said:

I actually had one little shit complain to me afterwards about how uncomfortable my screams made him feel.

Oh I have that t shirt too.

 

Since when have gynocologists been doing dentistry ?

[MadAxeMurderer 6,214]

I grew up in Ireland. A friend of mine from college I remarked to him his teeth were dreadful. It appears his dentist filled every single tooth when he was a child. With dark amalgam. An alert teacher noticed a group of children who all had the same dentist had an awful lot of fillings. The dentist actually went to prison.

 

I also remember my mother deciding to send me to the state dentist rather our private one for a checkup. He told me I needed 6 fillings. I had the sense to tell him my mother wanted my regular dentist to do fillings. Regular dentist said I had no need for fillings. 

 

I suspect dentistry is a profession ripe for corruption. A surgeon can't take out kidneys, or amputate legs to inflate his bills. But if a dentist fills a perfectly healthy tooth, who is going to investigate? He can even tell himself he's doing no damage and maybe the insurance pays.

 

[Keleth 9,279]

13 hours ago, optimista said:

 

 

Get thee next time to a foreign trained dentist if possible.

Just make sure he´s not NHS trained.Butchers the lot of them.

Mines German and he´s excellent,we had to have an emergency appointment 7 or 8 years ago and he was the emergency dentist and he was excellent and since then he´s been our regular dentist.

[Keleth 9,279]

1 hour ago, fraufruit said:

 

Side note - my public insurance pays these treatments 100%.

As far as I know, the AOK pays for treatment to the top and bottom 6 front teeth, anywhere else and you have to pay part of the treatment cost.

[emkay 10,150]

Reminds me of very traumatic German dentist experiences. I’ve no idea why my parents insisted on only seeing a dentist in Germany when we visited annually from the UK.  Same 2 teeth drilled and filled every time….without any anaesthesia. At the age of 14, I finally went to a UK dentist. All previously filled teeth removed…with anaesthesia. Never had a filling since! My dentist here said that my use of Philips Sonicare for the last 20+ years must have really helped to prevent any dental problems.